Greeley a friend of land

Elia Powers

Most of Louise Greeley’s contemporaries know her as a steadfast

supporter of parks and open spaces. She was, after all, the woman who

spent more than 20 years working with the city of Newport Beach to

turn a vacant piece of land at Superior Avenue and West Coast Highway

into a park.

“When I like something, I become extremely supportive of the

cause,” she said. “I follow through on my ideas.”

But few know that one of her first substantial projects put her

side-by-side with a future legendary playwright.

Greeley majored in speech and drama at the University of Michigan

in the late 1930s. She was tapped into the theater community, and

said much of the buzz surrounded a young writer named Arthur Miller.

While in college, Miller won a prestigious university drama award

for a play he wrote called “Roots,” which Greeley said depicted

aspects of American family life.

Greeley wanted students to be introduced to Miller’s award-winning

work, so she produced his show -- Miller’s first at the University of

Michigan.

“It seemed natural that since the award was given on campus, and

he wrote the play on campus, that the play should be shown on

campus,” Greeley said.

When she graduated in 1938 and moved back to her home in

Scarsdale, N.Y., Greeley lost contact with Miller, who died Feb. 11.

She followed his career from afar, but Greeley was busy traveling

the country with her husband, who worked for a construction company

that built chemical warfare arsenals.

The couple moved to Newport Beach in 1975, and Greeley immediately

joined the environmental group Stop Polluting Our Newport.

“When you care about the environment, it’s natural to get

involved,” she said. “When I moved here, I noticed there were no

places for children to play on the [west] side of the Pacific Coast

Highway.”

Greeley formed the Committee for the Acquisition of Sunset Ridge,

a group that succeeded in transforming a 12-acre, Caltrans-owned

property into a space available for public use in 2001 at the 1966

price of $1.3 million.

Greeley lives in a Newport Crest condominium that overlook the

park.

“She was responsible for the acquisition of the land,” said friend

Mike Johnson, who is involved in Stop Polluting Our Newport and

Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks. “She kept nagging at

[Assistant City Manager] Dave Kiff until he found a piece of

legislation that fit the situation.

“Throughout the years, I’ve thought to myself: This is just a

powerful woman.”

For her work on the project, State Sen. Ross Johnson honored

Greeley as the 2002 Woman of the Year for his 35th Senate District.

Greeley also won the 2005 Frank and Robinson Environmental Award

for her 25-year involvement in the Sunset Ridge acquisition.

She has stayed involved with Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks

by serving as the chairwoman of the Steering Committee of the Orange

Coast River Park. Greeley said she wants to convert Banning Ranch, a

500-acre section of Newport Beach, to publicly owned land.

“She is one of the most persistent people I’ve ever met,” said

Jean Watt, a former councilwoman and one of the founders of Friends

of Harbors, Beaches and Parks. “There are certain people you want to

be involved with, and she is one of them.”

Greeley said she is constantly seeking out people of high morals.

When she heard ethics expert Rushworth Kidder speak a few years back

in Los Angeles, she approached him about speaking at an event in

Newport Beach. He has done so every year since.

And Greeley said she noticed likable qualities in Miller from a

young age.

“He was always interested in morals,” she said. “He was sensitive

to doing the right thing and was very aware of problems around him.”

* ELIA POWERS is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

He may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or by e-mail at elia.powers@

latimes.com.